


Pizza and Family

by melonbutterfly



Series: Domesticity [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Post Mpreg, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-31 23:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1037591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melonbutterfly/pseuds/melonbutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the fight, the team goes to the hospital and meets Tony and Loki's daughters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pizza and Family

Despite his request for a pizza Loki falls asleep within five minutes; he looks exhausted, must be sore as hell. Tony stares at him and despite how much Loki deserves the rest just can't keep his hands off him; he has to reach out and brush the hair out of Loki's face. After that he can't help it and brushes kisses to his cheeks; torn between the need to touch and the knowledge that there is nothing Loki deserves more right now than rest he readjusts the blanket and after that tries his best to leave Loki in peace, let him get his much-needed sleep. Instead, Tony turns his focus on their daughters. The twins are in his line of sight, sleeping peacefully in their cot, but he still wants to see them better so he reaches out to pull them closer – and god, they're spooning, Tony almost dies on the spot, it's too adorable.

He still has difficulties believing they're really there, even as they lie right in front of him. They're tiny, much smaller than Tony had expected – he could span one chest with his hand. They'd been so fragile when he'd held them, so trusting and dependable on him. He had been worried about this moment, scared that he'd feel crushed by the responsibility, but all he'd felt was the thrill of anticipation. Worry too, of course, that he will fall short as a parent, but he is looking forwards to it – to everything – so damn much. Knowing that Loki is with him helps – Loki has raised four children, he knows what he's doing. And all Tony can think now as he looks at the two tiny babies Loki carried in his belly for eight months is that these are his children, his and Loki's, and the feeling that wells up in him at the thought is overwhelming, a little scary, a lot of good. He's hesitant to name it but it's pretty obvious what it is.

It's unclear how long Tony sits there, peering at his daughters and keeping an eye on Loki in turns. At one point the outside world starts creeping in again and he remembers that he left his team in a bit of a pinch, so he fumbles one of the earpieces out of his pocket and clicks it on. The comm is silent as if plugged off which is either a good or very bad sign. Despite the fact that he retreated to the door in an attempt not to disturb his resting family Tony keeps his voice low as he asks, "Guys? Everything alright?"

It takes a moment before he gets a reply, Steve, sounding both worried and relieved. "Tony, what's up? We're all still plugged in, how is Loki?"

"Good," Tony replies, unable to keep the giddiness out of his voice. "The twins are fine too. The fight's over? Are you guys okay?"

"Yes, we're in the debriefing right now," Steve replies. "We wanted to come over but we weren't sure if you'd want that?"

"Are you kidding me? Come over. Bring pizza."

Steve gives a startled laugh. "Pizza?"

"Loki wants pizza," Tony explains, peering at where Loki is still asleep. Steve laughs again but promises they'll bring pizza, and be there in half an hour. After he clicks off Tony pulls the chair he'd been sitting on closer to the head of Loki's bed, pulling the cot after him, and takes a closer look at Loki.

Even asleep he looks exhausted, a little pale with shadows under his eyes. When he'd been awake, though, the happiness had erased the tiredness from his features so Tony tries not to worry. The birth had been bad; hearing Loki scream like that when usually Loki is the type to grit his teeth and breathe through the pain had been worse than anything. He really doesn't understand how Loki could have chosen to go through that, knowing what it would be like, when he'd had the option of a caesarean instead. Loki has tried to explain it to him before, something about natural birth and it being part of pregnancy, and Tony had accepted that but having witnessed the birth now Tony wonders again.

A sniffle from the cot immediately draws Tony's attention. One of the twins – Lily, Tony is reasonably sure, though he'll only be able to tell for sure when he sees the name tag and he really hopes he'll learn to tell them apart quickly – is awake, blinking blurrily and looking a little cranky.

"Hey," Tony murmurs lowly, leaning in and touching her small fist with the tip of his index finger. "What's up? Something wrong?"

She spreads her fingers then balls them into fists again, flailing a little; Tony decides to take it as a sign that she wants to get up. This interpretation of her signals might be skewed by the fact that Tony _wants_ to pick her up, but who can blame him?

A little clumsy Tony fumbles her out of the blanket covering her and her sister – and yes, it is Lily, maybe telling them apart won't be so difficult after all – and lifts her up, careful to support her head like their midwife taught him. Once she is safely settled in the crook of his arm he takes one of the blankets folded at the foot of their bed and wraps it around her, the fact that keeping them warm is the most important thing right now fresh on his mind. She waves her arms a little, squinting at him before closing her eyes again, but seems content enough being held, settling down again. Tony marvels at the tiny weight in his arms; she's so fragile and small but means so much. He's glad the under-armor and sturdy scrubs are covering the light of the arc reactor, though, with the way bright lights bother his daughters. With her head right next to it otherwise it would certainly bother her.

"Everything alright?" Loki asks tiredly, looking at them through half-lidded eyes. He yawns, shifts a little on the bed and winces, but seems to ignore the pain in an effort to peer into the cot at their second daughter. June is awake as well, Tony notices now, her eyes squinted into slits, but she looks content enough.

"Yeah," Tony says quietly and leans in to kiss Loki on the lips. "How are you feeling?"

Loki shrugs. "Tired. Sore." Reaching out, he pulls the cot close and lifts June up, settling her in his arms. Tony stares at the two of them for a moment, not quite able to believe that this is his life, that this is really happening. Yeah, a part of him is scared – children are a lot of responsibility, their life will completely change, but he's had over a year to think about it and prepare and he thinks he's as ready as can be. Besides, they have a whole team to fall back on; the Avengers are completely with them.

Carefully, he leans in and kisses Loki on the cheek. Loki tilts his face into it and meets Tony's lips with his, kisses him softly. Tony can't even find the words to say, is speechless with it all, so all he can do is kiss Loki again and again until Loki laughs and has to turn away because Tony has gotten too fast to catch up with.

"Tony," Loki says, eyes bright and face almost glowing despite the tiredness. He smiles helplessly. "How are the others?"

"Fine," Tony replies, settling on the side of Loki's mattress. "They're on their way and will bring pizza." He doesn't mean to claim any space, just wants to be close to his partner and other daughter, but Loki immediately makes it an effort to make room on the bed, holding June with one arm and supporting himself with the other, grimacing at the pain as he shifts to the side.

"Hey," Tony feebly tries to stop him, but Loki ignores him. They rearrange themselves a little, exchanging glances and adjusting blankets and pillows until they more or less share the bed. One of Tony's legs hangs off the side of it and Loki is leaning against Tony, less out of necessity and more so he can be closer to Lily. Both their daughters seem to have drifted off again despite the wriggling Tony and Loki just did; it's amazing, how trusting and comfortable they are. The novelty of it won't wear off anytime soon, Tony is sure of that.

They sit in silence for a while until a knock at the door catches their attention. Tony maybe should get up and see who it is but he's comfortable where he is and doesn't fancy getting up, much less putting Lily down. Loki doesn't seem to care much either way because he just says "Yes?" before Tony has made any decision either way.

Almost tentatively, the door opens and then Thor's head pokes into the room. When he spots them his face brightens and Tony almost expects for him to bellow something at his happy, top level tone of voice, but Thor not only remembers but actually manages to keep the volume low. "Brother," he says and approaches them almost on tip-toes, eyes glued to the babies. In front of the bed he comes to a halt, finally looking up at Loki, offering Tony nothing more than a slightly distracted smile. "How are you?"

"Well enough, considering the circumstances," Loki replies.

Thor smiles and nods awkwardly. "Good." Most bare necessities out of the way, his gaze is immediately drawn back to the sleeping babies. He leans in a little to peer at them but doesn't actually invade anybody's space. "I meet my nieces."

"They are met by their uncle. These are June and Lily," Loki introduces; they both act a little formal like this is some sort of protocol. Unsure of his own role, Tony keeps silent as Thor leans in further, almost tentatively reaching out with one hand to put his fingertips first on Lily's, then June's head. It looks a lot like he's blessing them, especially since he whispers something in a language for each of them. Tony has no idea what he's saying but whatever it is, it makes Loki smile sweetly, almost shyly as he looks down at the babies as well. Once the small ritual appears to be done Loki leans across Tony and brushes a kiss across Thor's forehead. If Tony weren't somewhat used to it (more than once he'd played messenger or buffer for them, not always to either of their pleasure) he'd be a little uncomfortable at literally being the middleman between the two brothers.

"Where is my pizza?" Loki then asks, clearly marking the end of whatever happened just now. (Tony is fairly sure it was a moment. A _family moment_. Wow.)

"The others are bringing it," Thor replies, pulling a chair close and sitting down. "I did not have the patience to wait. How are you, Tony?"

"Me?" Tony raises an eyebrow. "I'm good. _I_ wasn't the one who just squeezed out two babies out of my… delicate parts." Ah, the wonders of birth. Tony will have nightmares about this for a long time to come. Sure, it was magical and all that jazz but even as tiny as they are, everything in Tony curls up and shrieks in horror at the thought of having to go through what Loki went through to bring them into the world. If he didn't before, Tony gained a lot of new respect for mothers.

Going by Thor's grimace, he has similar thoughts. They share a bit of a look while Loki hums, adjusting the blanket a little. "Which is why I expect my every whim to be catered to for the foreseeable future."

"Of course," Tony agrees immediately, and not because he's pandering but because… seriously. Loki deserves all the things in the world he wants and more. By this point, if Loki wanted the world itself Tony would seriously consider getting it for him; he doesn't think Loki would be too cruel a dictator. "Anything." He brushes a kiss to Loki's temple, earning himself a smile as sweet as the one Thor and their daughters had gotten earlier.

"You deserve whatever you wish," Thor says, though Tony doubts he considered world domination; even after everything Thor is a little stuck in a black/white sort of world view. "You did good, brother."

"I did, didn't I?" With a proud smile Loki adjusts his hold on June until she's resting on his chest, head in the crook of his neck. Carefully holding her there with both hands, Loki then leans in and kisses Lily's forehead, nuzzles her a little before sitting up again, all but beaming when he looks at Tony.

"You did," Tony confirms, completely helpless against how he feels right now, one of his daughters in his arms, his second in Loki's who is still leaning into his side. He wants to put one arm around his partner but doesn't feel sure enough of his ability to safely hold Lily with just one arm; he has a feeling he'll learn soon enough. Letting go of anyone currently in this bed isn't going to happen anytime soon.

Another knock at the door; Thor gets up to check who it is and then steps aside to let Clint and Natasha in who are carrying… a lot of stuff. Flowers and balloons in abundance, plus two plastic bags filled to bulging.

"Hey," Natasha greets.

"We brought a lot of stuff," Clint adds.

"I can see that," Loki says, raising an eyebrow at two of the balloons. "Is… it common on Midgard to require a balloon to inform one of their child's sex?"

Clint rolls his eyes; it took them a while not to fall for the "we don't understand Midgardian culture" act Loki and Thor pull occasionally – far too long, really, the brothers probably had a lot of fun over how flustered they could make their friends with the questions they'd ask. "Nope. Also, these are gender balloons, not sex balloons." Helpfully, he jostles through his bundle (there must be at least ten, all saying things like "Get Well Soon!" and "Happy Birthday!" and "Congratulations!" and other things requiring exclamation marks) until he can show them two baby blue ones proclaiming "It's A Boy!" along with the two pink ones that say "It's A Girl!". "We didn't want to make any assumptions as to gender identity so we decided to go with both."

Loki looks very pleased at that, as if he had anything to do with the team's gender sensitivity – well, he might have peripherally, in the sense that he'd resort to violence if anyone made an unwise comment about his physical appearance (he's a man, no matter which sex he might be wearing at a time – he's especially sensitive on the topic since his race/species is still a bit unclear, both physically and in the matter of his personal identification) but it was Coulson who sent them all through gender sensitivity training.

"Also," Natasha says, referring to the bundle of flowers she carries (at least three bouquets), "we brought flowers. We know you prefer them potted but they didn't have any in the shop downstairs."

"How sweet of you, thank you." Loki smiles at both of them and they smile back, a little surprised at how pleasant Loki's being.

"And chocolate," Clint adds, jostling the plastic bag he's carrying. "And some other stuff we thought you might want or need. You know, since you don't have your bag and all."

"Very thoughtful," Loki says. There is a brief pause until he adds, "If you put it all down, you can come closer and take a look."

Clint practically throws everything he's carrying at Thor; a couple of the balloons escape in the process and bump into the ceiling. Thor doesn't get the chance to recapture them because Natasha follows Clint's example and hands her own loot over as well before they step up to the bed, staring at the two babies.

"So," Natasha says after a brief pause. "Is this the wrong moment to tell you that I've never been around a real life baby before?"

"Well, you have trained how to hold one and been informed to avoid loud noises, so I'm sure you'll do fine," Loki replies. "Maybe you can hold Lily in a little bit."

Both Tony and Thor make a protesting noise at that; Thor clearly thinks it's his turn first but no dice. It's Tony's turn. _Forever_. The only reason he'll be letting go of Lily will be to exchange her for June. Natasha looks a little put out but if she wants to hold a baby, she can make one herself. Tony waited nine months for this; it'll be a while still before it wears off.

"Can I touch her?" Clint whispers, oblivious to the byplay because he's too focused on Lily.

"If you're careful," Tony allows after a brief moment of hesitation. Touching is okay; he's got to stop being silly to their future babysitters.

With a wide smile Clint reaches out, almost comically careful, and brushes his fingertips over Lily's hand that's balled into a tiny fist. She doesn't react at all at first but when Natasha follows Clint and touches her as well Lily's hand twitches a little and she takes an audible breath. Everybody freezes to stare at her but she doesn't do anything else, just continues to sleep peacefully.

"They look a bit… wrinkled," Clint says after a moment of silence.

Tony snorts. "You try going through what they went through and come out looking like Beyoncé."

Clint glances at Loki and visibly shudders. "Uh, no thanks."

"I think that is something we can all agree on." Rolling his eyes heavenwards, Loki changes topics, clearly done with that line of conversation. "What else have you brought me?"

Vases for the flowers, for one. While Natasha puts the flowers in the vases and arranges them on the tables on each side of Loki's bed, Clint basically upends the two plastic bags to show them several types of chocolate, a couple of other candy things, two "congratulations on your baby good job" cards (that don't exactly word it like that, they really aren't overly witty) addressed to Loki, Tony and one baby each and signed by both Natasha and Clint, some chips, baby wipes, bottled water, tissues, a small pack of diapers, a sandwich, a crunchy corner yoghurt, a plastic spoon wrapped in a tissue ("they had them for free and we figured you'd need one, for the yoghurt, you know"), and two yellow and pastel green baby onesies that are probably way too big. "We weren't sure, but we figured better safe than sorry, right?" Clint explains awkwardly. "We have real presents but they're in the tower and we didn't want to come here with empty hands."

"Good thinking," Loki comments, making grabby hands for the box of nougat pralines. With a glance at Tony Clint opens the box and offers it to Loki, who immediately pops a piece into his mouth and closes his eyes, humming happily. He's probably ravenous; Tony hopes Steve and Bruce will bring enough pizza. Knowing the others, they'll want some as well – it's impossible to eat pizza in the tower without at least two people showing up attracted by the smell and demanding a piece. Especially after a fight.

Apropos. "How was the fight?"

Clint opens a bottle of water and hands it to Loki before shrugging. "Nothing extraordinary."

"Turns out it was all a distraction while he was trying to break in somewhere," Natasha adds; she's busy tying the balloons to various handles around the room, primarily the bed and night tables.

"Where and why?" Loki asks around a mouthful of chocolate. Before anybody can reply there is another knock on the door and Steve pokes is head in, expression a mix of wariness and excitement.

"Come in, especially if you have pizza," Loki says and indeed, Steve is carrying a stack of large pizzas. The noise Loki makes at the sight of them is vaguely sinful.

Steve smiles abashedly and steps into the room, glancing back and forth between the babies and Loki before focusing on the latter. "We got pineapple, pepperoni, barbeque chicken, tuna and onions, vegetable, meat lovers and four cheeses."

"Yes," Loki says. "Chicken first, give."

"Do you really want to-" Tony starts before interrupting himself; this probably isn't a good idea.

But Loki pauses and raises an eyebrow at him. "Yes?" It's not an answer to the not-question but a prompt for Tony to complete the sentence – or maybe more of a demand, really.

Tony ducks is head. "Uh, hot pizza and baby doesn't seem like a good combination?"

Loki smirks. "But babies are so crunchy and tender." Before anybody can react either way to that he suddenly leans across Tony and hands June over to Thor, who looks both delighted and terrified. Loki doesn't even have to utter any sort of threat; they all can imagine very well what he'd do if any of his children got harmed in any way. Or maybe not because the last time he wrought destruction Loki didn't have Tony at his side wielding it along with him. And he would, if his children were involved, he very much would.

June looks even smaller in the crook of Thor's elbow, head tiny against his biceps; she's dwarfed by his hands but Thor is perfectly gentle and careful, handles her in a way that makes Tony think that this isn't the first baby Thor is holding. Well, duh, of course it isn't, considering Thor's age there's no way he's not held his fair share of babies, his own or other people's.

Tony shifts a little while Loki makes grabby hands for the pizza Steve gamely hands over; Clint has taken a seat at the foot end of the bed next to his loot and Natasha hovers awkwardly by Thor's shoulder, staring down at the baby in is arms.

"So," Steve says a bit awkwardly. Seems like this situation brings out the awkwardness in all of them; the Avengers can't handle two newborns and two new parents, who knew. "How are you?"

"Better now," Loki says around his mouthful of pizza. "You?"

Steve is visibly startled by the question. "Uh, good, thanks." He glances at June, then Lily, then Tony. "What about you?"

"Well, Steve," Tony says earnestly, "I think it'll take me a while to recover from this. The pain was excruciating."

Loki rolls his eyes and grabs another box from Steve; he isn't yet finished with the one he started with but apparently his priority is more one of everything than everything. "Your hand isn't even broken, quit your whining."

This is the first time he brought it up (though Tony is absolutely sure his hand will show some spectacular bruising soon; Loki's grip was anything but gentle) but Tony doesn't point that out. Instead he lets his eyes go a little wide and glances at the pineapple pizza Loki is taking huge bites out of.

"Pizza, baby," Loki says smugly and grins. For a moment Tony is honestly conflicted – he is rather hungry, he's sure they missed a meal somewhere though he couldn't tell which one – but really, the prospect of having to give Lily to somebody else helps him come to a decision quickly. He sighs and adjusts his old on her a little, peering down at her peacefully sleeping face. She looks even more like a baby now, rosy and soft, barely any wrinkles left.

When he looks up Loki is looking at them with a soft expression on his face, and after a moment he holds out the slice of pizza he's chewing on. Tony grins and leans over to take the offered bite, careful not to do it on top of Lily.

"Everybody is alright, then?" Steve asks.

Tony nods, mouth full, and looks around the room. Then he pauses because there is somebody missing. "Where's Bruce?"

Steve shifts. "He, uh, he'll be in in a bit."

"Yeah? Good." Tony narrows his eyes. When Loki had become pregnant and they'd told the others Bruce had repeatedly offered to move out because he didn't want to risk the Hulk being around a pregnant person, especially Loki. It had taken several conversations between the three of them before Bruce had relaxed about it, but apparently Tony had been wrong when assuming the topic was completely done with. Hopefully Bruce is just meditating to ensure he'll be properly calm before coming in; with the Hulk having so recently been let out he's probably more worried about that than usual.

"Can I hold her?" Natasha asks suddenly. She's hovering at Thor's side, staring at June, but as attention shifts to her she glances at Lily, making it an open question as to which baby she's referring to.

Thor is clearly not amendable to the idea; he actually pretends like he hasn't heard her at all. As a result Tony finds himself under the intense scrutiny of Steve, Clint and Natasha, which, just, no. "Not right now," he says firmly. Possibly he'd consider switching for June but he's uncomfortable with the implication that his daughters are interchangeable so maybe not after all. Except he doesn't want to look like he's having favorites, especially not when they're barely out of the womb but in general that's a huge no-go. Loki didn't need to say anything at all – had in fact brought the issue up only once when he'd quietly said, "We will love both of them in equal measure and make very sure they know it" about an hour after they'd found out about the surprise second baby – but it's one of their key issues. Points? It's more the opposite of an issue when the intention is to make it an absolutely non-issue, right?

"Aww, come on, you're hogging her," Clint needles.

Honestly offended, Tony stiffens. "She's _my daughter_ -!"

"Which is all there is to it," Loki involves himself, interrupting Tony before this can actually become some sort of conflict. He makes a show of being unconcerned as he picks a piece of pineapple off his pizza before taking a bite; only then does he look up to meet their eyes. His expression makes very clear that the matter is closed and nobody better bring it up again.

They all have learned from that expression – it used to happen very often so it hadn't taken them long – so everybody keeps wisely silent. Mollified, Tony settles back into the pillows and holds Lily close.

"So," Steve says after a moment of silence, "what are their names?"

Very early into the pregnancy, Tony and Loki had made the mistake of not quite involving the others in the process of searching for a name (they hadn't known they were expecting twins until comparably late into the pregnancy) but of letting them know of the current status. Very soon, they had learned better because apparently there is nothing like the naming of a child to bring out the opinions in anyone. Fucking Fury had commented on the names they were considering, which, just, no. Though it had taken a thoughtful "Howard would be a nice second name, don't you think?" from Steve – with Natasha agreeing, as if either of them had any say at all in how Tony and Loki name their child, much less how Tony chooses to honor his father (or not, as it were). And they _knew_ Tony wasn't on very good terms with his father. Tony had very firmly put is foot down then and from month two onwards, he and Loki had kept their considerations between each other; even once they had picked they had kept silent about it. Loki hadn't much appreciated the unsolicited opinions either.

"This is Lily," Loki introduces, brushing the backs of his fingers over her forehead, "and Thor is holding June."

Unsurprisingly, Steve likes the names, and if the others disagree they're smart enough not to let on. "Very sweet," Natasha comments. From her that could go either way but her soft smile makes it clear that she approves as well.

A somewhat tentative knock on the door announces Bruce's arrival; he pokes his head into the room and smiles, just barely nervous.

"Hello," he says and enters the room. He's carrying two of those cardboard trays for paper cups coffee shops give you if you buy more than two drinks, letting the smell of caffeine into the room. Everybody perks up and hones in on him like target-oriented missiles. With an expression of amused understanding, Bruce starts doling out the coffee.

"My hero," Tony says when he receives his own cup, but to take it he'd have to let go of Lily, which, well. He's reluctant.

This time unsympathetic to the dilemma Tony finds himself in Loki snorts, unceremoniously plucks their daughter out of Tony's arms and settles her on his chest. Tony makes a noise of protest but doesn't make any move to get her back for now. Caffeine is probably a good idea. He's not crashing yet but he probably will once things have calmed down completely.

"Triple shot espresso," Bruce offers, raising Loki's cup before putting it on the side table. "And who is this?"

"Lily of as of yet undisclosed middle and last name," Loki introduces. "Thor is holding June of also yet undisclosed middle and last names."

Bruce smiles a little nervously and leans in a little to peer at both babies. "They're really tiny."

"Twins tend to be smaller," Loki offers. It does make sense, they have to share a very limited space and also weren't quite carried to full term.

"It's stupid," Bruce says after a moment, hands shoved nervously into his pockets, "I've been around kids before, but I just..." He shrugs helplessly.

"It's okay," Tony replies, a little clumsily because his tongue is a little burnt. He's drinking his coffee too fast and maybe he's being a little stupid too but he feels weird without his daughter in his arms. The sooner his drink is done the better. "We talked about it so, just, you know." He waves his hand awkwardly and hopes Bruce gets it.

He might, or maybe he's just taking pity of Tony because he nods and smiles again, small but maybe a little less nervous. "Yes."

"Okay." Swallowing the last of his coffee Tony puts the cup away and makes grabby hands for June, still in Thor's arms. "Come on, give."

Looking personally injured, Thor shifts a little away from him.

That just won't do. "No." Tony raises an eyebrow. "My baby. I want it. Now."

Thor hesitates for just a moment before giving in and handing June over with a huge pout that's probably not even exaggerated. But, well. If he wants a baby that much he can make his own. Tony ignores him and smiles down at June, who looks sleepily disgruntled, having woken up during the transfer.

"Ooh, somebody inherited the glare from their mother," Clint chortles.

"I know," Tony agrees. He knows he sounds utterly besotted but he can't bring himself to mind. June's unimpressed face really resembles Loki's, now that Clint has brought it up.

"N'aww," Natasha makes when June, still looking disgruntled, turns her head towards Tony's chest. "Is she trying to hide her face?" A moment later June grimaces, opens her mouth and squawks unhappily.

"No, she's trying to find food," Loki explains.

"Well, she's out of luck with me there," Tony says and watches as Loki hands Lily over to Natasha, who instantly looks both delighted and suddenly scared, which is a weird expression on her face. Then suddenly Loki is half-naked and plucks June, who seems to be working herself up into making another noise if the way she's breathing and opening her mouth is any indication, out of Tony's arms and settles her against his chest the way he did the first time he nursed them.

"Uh," Steve makes. "That's a little more than I was prepared to witness so soon."

"The circle of life, Steve," Tony replies absently, which might not make sense completely. He watches as June latches on and then considers taking Lily back, but Natasha looks so delighted to be holding her that he can't quite make himself. Instead he scoots closer to Loki and tucks the pillow supporting Loki's arms into place. "Get used to it."

"I will not refrain from feeding my daughter just for the sake of so ephemeral a concept as this corner of Midgard's current idea of what you call decency," Loki says coolly.

"No, you shouldn't, that's not what I meant, just… I didn't quite expect that."

Tony notes that Steve is doing his best to avoid looking directly at Loki's chest, which is entirely too amusing, but his voice is earnest.

"I really did well," Loki murmurs, eying June who is happily suckling. Then he glances at Tony and grants, "I suppose you played some part as well."

"Thanks, babe." Tony smirks. "It was a pleasure."

"Oh," Steve makes once he gets it, face turning red. "Tony."

Clint chortles. "And here I was wondering if being a father would tame you, Stark."

Tony gasps, fake-offended. "Perish the thought!"

"Nothing could ever achieve that," Bruce says with some amusement. Everybody vocally agrees while Tony rolls his eyes.

There's another knock on the door, and Steve opens the door to admit Pepper into the room, carrying a box of two dozen donuts and an expectant expression.

"Pep!" Tony grins. "Come look at my daughters!"

"What I'm here for." Pepper grins as well and steps close, handing Tony the box of donuts before dutifully peering at June, still being fed by Loki, and then Lily in Natasha's arms. "They're adorable," is her judgment. "Also, wow. Bigger than expected. Wow."

"Are you picturing it?" Cling asks. "Because I've been trying very hard not to picture it."

"My brother is a strong and fierce warrior," Thor pipes up. That's really sweet, and Tony can tell that Loki is flattered even if he does his best not to show it. He smiles and puts a hand on Loki's thigh to squeeze.

"Fair warning," Pepper murmurs distractedly; she's touching Lily's hand that's balled into a tiny fist with one finger. Her and Natasha's heads are bent over the baby; she's awake, Tony notices, blinking sleepily. "I came with Nick and Phil, they'll be here in a bit."

Because Lily is too adorable, it takes Tony a moment to realize what Pepper just said. "…what? Fury? Why?"

"To pay their respects to my progeny, of course," Loki says, raising one eyebrow like it's obvious.

"Okay," Tony says, because he doesn't think that's really it but he can't think of anything else either.

"I would also like to add that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them," Pepper pipes up, turning around to send Tony a narrow-eyed look, "because nobody told me what was happening."

Tony lets his eyes go wide. "But I was busy!"

"…yes, okay, I give you that," Pepper grants. "Still. It's been a couple of hours since they were born and you could have called me."

She does have a point. "Sorry."

Pepper shrugs and turns back to coo at Lily, who has one tiny hand wrapped around Pepper's finger and seems to be trying to guide it to her mouth.

"She'll demand food soon as well," Loki observes. "They have good timing, June is almost done."

"Teamwork." Tony grins proudly. His daughters are awesome.

As if on a cue, Lily makes a protesting noise when Pepper's finger doesn't seem to produce the results she's expecting, so Tony puts a towel on his shoulder and then takes June back from her mother's arms. He settles her on his shoulder the way he learned from the midwife that came to them a couple of times and gently pats her on the back, helping her burp.

"You know," Pepper says, "I expected you to panic a little more about all this, but you seem perfectly calm."

Calm? That doesn't really fit, but panic doesn't either. "I got all my panicking in in advance," Tony replies. It's true; he had more than one freak out about the responsibility and the possibility of him screwing it all up even before the conception, but he and Loki talked a lot about it then and also during the pregnancy, and they had a midwife over to show them and the whole team how to handle a baby and what to do in a crisis. By this point Tony feels reasonably prepared. That's not to say he isn't worried, of course he is, but he isn't panicked. Besides, Loki knows what he's doing because he has raised several children himself and that helps a lot. Not to mention that he has a whole team of people who'll be there in case he fucks up; he won't end up like his father, who euphemistically put didn't know what to do with Tony, or like his mother, who tried so hard to remain a person with her own life that she forgot that she was a mother as well.

No, Tony won't be like that. Loki will help him do the right thing by his daughters when he needs guidance, and his team will be there for them when Tony needs to bury himself in his workshop. Of course his life will change, but he's prepared and has the support system he needs to do this.


End file.
